Cheers for Kanpai Sushi's 10 years

Most of the dishes at Kanpai Sushi are made from family recipes, COURTESY PHOTO

Kanpai Sushi

27742 Antonio Parkway, K-6

Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

949-429-2772

LADERA RANCH – Kanpai Sushi in the Mercantile East Shopping Center in Ladera Ranch is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

"It's an accomplishment to be open for 10 years," said manager Amethysthvu Lam. "We have seen our regular customers grow up, and that makes Ladera special."

Lam's in-laws own Kanpai Sushi Japanese restaurants in Ladera Ranch and Aliso Viejo. The Lam family, which is Chinese, also owns Chinese restaurants in Irvine.

Kanpai Sushi's most popular dishes are the salmon sushi, which is farm-raised in Alaska, and the yellow tail sushi, which is flown in from Japan, Lam said. Most dishes are made from family recipes, and some have been changed by the head chef, Lam said.

To be able to eat the seafood raw, Lam buys sushi-grade fish, she said. Also, the way fish is prepared is important when it comes to sushi, she said. Some fish, like salmon, needs to be cut into small pieces and flash frozen over night to kill bacteria, she said. Other fish, like yellow tail can't be frozen but has to be served fresh, she said.

A popular drink with sushi is sake, which is a Japanese rice wine served hot. "It is supposed to kill germs if any," Lam said.

Kanpai, which means "cheers" in Japanese, makes most of its special sauces, like the ponsu and the Athena sauce, from scratch. The others, like pickled ginger, wasabi and the soy sauce, are bought.

Lam became involved in the restaurant business after she was laid off as a biochemist in 2003. Lam, who is Vietnamese, experienced first-hand differences in Japanese culture. She noticed there were conflicts when a woman was in charge of male sous chefs and when patrons requested a change in a dish on the menu.

In Japanese culture, modifying a dish is like coming to someone's house and offending them by telling them the best way to cook their food, Lam said.

"Now, we try the best we can to modify after the customers' requests, yet retain our core," she said.

Most of the dishes at Kanpai Sushi are made from family recipes, COURTESY PHOTO
Kanpai Sushi chefs Hiko Amamizu, Agus Goeij and Shoji Sasaki with restaurant manager Amethysthvu Lam. COURTESY PHOTO
Kanpai Sushiâ€™s most popular dishes are the salmon sushi and the yellow tail sushi.COURTESY PHOTO

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